As the Toronto International Film Festival winds to a close, Magnolia Pictures has picked up U.S. rights The Hunter, a psychological drama from Australian that bowed at the fest.

Directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, adapted from the novel by Julia Leigh, the movie stars Willem Dafoe as a mercenary hired by a bio-tech firm to track down a rare animal in the Tasmanian wilderness. Sam Neill and Frances O’Connor also star. Porchlight Films’ Vincent Sheehan produced.

Magnolia, which is planning a 2012 theatrical through its Ultra VOD program for The Hunter, also picked up Michael Dowse’s Goon and Bob Goldthwait’s God Bless America at this year’s festival.

The deal was negotiated for Magnolia’s SVP of acquisitions Dori Begley, director of acquisitions Peter Van Steemburg and head of legal and business affairs Chris Matson. UTA Independent Film Group and eOne, which is handling sales outside of Australia, negotiated on behalf of the filmmakers.